


Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow

by Two_Divided_by_Zero



Category: Persona 5
Genre: And Failing, Angst, Boys being oblivious, Crushes, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, spoilers for several confidants, trying to avoid any spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-10-28 12:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10831080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Two_Divided_by_Zero/pseuds/Two_Divided_by_Zero
Summary: Crushes (and subsequently, love) don't just blindside you on a lazy Saturday afternoon.  For Akira, it all began in May with a heist to steal an artist's heart.And no, the irony isn't lost on him.Or: all the little moments that made the leader of the phantom thieves fall for his foxy, if a little oblivious, teammate.





	1. It all began in June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/only-a-man-with-a-candle/)

“Crushes,” _a classmate at his old town had once told him_ , “are terminal.”

_At the time, Akira had merely blinked at her in confusion while several surrounding girls nodded sagely and began chattering to each other in subdued tones. He looked over at the other side of the classroom where a bunch of boys who had previously been talking about soccer practice were now shooting his pitying looks._

_A sigh brought his attention back to the original girl; she and the other girls noticed his lack of attention if there flat expressions were any indication to go by. He remembered thinking girls were confusing; why were they upset with him for not paying attention to a conversation he wasn’t meant to be part of?_

(What had he even been doing prior to that moment? Honestly, he didn’t remember anymore; he’d been younger and more concerned with what was for dinner than that the girls in his class had recently discovered make-up. Life had been much simpler then and he often found himself feeling nostalgic for those days as he laid awake on his lumpy mattress in Leblanc.)

_A pretty brunette stepped forward and patted her friend(?) on the back before gesturing to three other girls. They all shuffled closer, casually patting backs and murmuring to each other._

(“Don’t be upset, you know boys aren’t the brightest.” “I had hope he’d understand. He always seemed like such a sweet guy…” “I guess Akira really isn’t that different after all.”)

Younger Akira didn’t know this at the time, but he would one day be repeating those same words to a cat that led him to a world built by the collective thoughts of men. 

In an attic reeking of the scent of Sojiro’s coffee, Akira listened to Morgana prattle on once more over his appreciation and fondness for their female teammate. As he ran his fingers through soft fur, Akira sometimes wondered what it would be like to own a pet that couldn’t speak. 

(It would be quieter, that’s for sure. Is that necessarily a good thing though? He wondered…)

Sometime after the tenth proclamation of, “she’s just so _cool_ and strong and smart, don’t you think?” that Akira spoke up. Morgana’s reaction was instantaneous; his tail stood straight up and he actually _yowled_ in indignation. For being a self-proclaimed human, it was a remarkably cat-like reaction.

“Are you saying my feelings for Lady Ann are merely a crush?! I’d have expected this from Ryuji” - the way Morgana spat their teammates name out, as though it was the worst of expletives, had Akira muffling a snort of laughter - “but not from you! Joker, I’ve never felt so betrayed in my life!”

It took copious apologizing and promises of sushi - “and not that cheap stuff from the convenience store this time. Don’t you dare say ‘employee discount’ either because I saw how much we got in Mementos!” - before Morgana would settle back in for bed. Akira idly traced patterns on Morgana’s bed while he kneaded the blanket into submission. Once it was sufficiently pawed at, the cat plopped down with a yawn.

“You say things like that,” he grumbled, “but it’s not like you have the busiest love life either. Thank you for the Hallmark card quote, Casanova, but maybe you should stick to stealing people’s hearts in the metaverse for now.”

Akira thought of those girls back in his class, of the girl’s volleyball team prostrating themselves at Shadow Kamoshida’s feet, and couldn’t help but agree.

\---

“...Joker, why are you giving me candy?”

(When he’d been five years old, a commercial pilot had spoken to his class for career day. Most of the time was spent fielding questions from impressionable little boys with big dreams of flying fighter jets, but part of it was spent reassuring a classmate who got motion sick that she could still be a pilot herself one day. He’d expounded on the dangers of not eating - which people sometimes attempted as a means to prevent vomiting - and the value of nutrition. Rather than skipping meals, he mentioned chewing mint bubble gum or-)

“It’s ginger candy.” _Wasn’t that obvious?_

Yusuke pinched the candy between his thumb and forefinger, tilting his head back and forth as though finding the best angle to capture in a painting. “I see that, but it doesn’t explain why you’re giving it to me.” He paused. “Or why you had it in the first place, for that matter.”

Even in the dull light of Mementos, Akira could see how wan the artist’s face was. It was a known fact that Yusuke was prone to skipping meals for monetary reasons, as was that he was prone to carsickness. Despite Ryuji poking fun at it, even he asked for more frequent breaks during their exploration. Citing his desire to “take a well deserved break from saving humanity,” it was obvious even he was worried about their new teammate.

A true leader nevers overlooks the well-being of their comrades. 

Thus, a plan was hatched. After consulting Dr. Takemi, Akira found himself eyeing shelves of different flavors of ginger candies. Lemon, orange, original… After some not-so-careful contemplation, he swept the entire shelf into his basket. As a consolation for spending hard-earned exploration money, he even grabbed some of the “cheap” convenience store sushi for Morgana on the way out. 

He waited until their team split up, with the other three choosing to leave the safe area to take a sneak peak of the floor ahead, to enact his plan. Akira did not want to call any more attention to this matter and risk embarrassing the newest phantom thief.

All that planning seemed for naught as Yusuke continued to inspect the candy. The crinkle of cellophane echoed like a gunshot through the subway tunnels as Akira wondered if he’d somehow messed up.

Slowly, cautiously, Yusuke peeled back and wrapper. After shifting his mask up and popping the candy into his mouth, Yusuke’s face remained curiously blank. “Akira?”

“Hm?”

“This is disgusting.”

Akira couldn’t help the chuckles that bubbled up at his teammate’s blunt assessment. “You act like you’ve never eaten ginger before.”

Yusuke recoiled back, eerily reminiscent of their feline companion, and looked indignant. “Of course I’ve eaten _ginger_! I’ve just…” he trailed off to roll the candy around his mouth, “... is it _supposed_ to be spicy?”

“It’s supposed to help with carsickness.” Akira didn’t mean to sound so _pouty_ , but he’d made a special trip and - 

“It’s...not that bad, I suppose.” Yusuke paused, deliberately weighing each word. “Once the flavor mellows out, it is almost pleasant.”

 _Oh._ “Oh.”

Silence.

Akira couldn’t help but notice the way Yusuke seemed to be appraising him now. This in and of itself wasn’t unusual; no one could miss the way the team’s resident artist was always viewing the world through the frame of his fingers. This though… this seemed different. 

(He was used to being appraised at this point; people’s first reaction when learning of his criminal record is often to weigh and measure them with their eyes. _that_ sort of look always left him feeling flayed open and judged. Yusuke’s look...left him feeling like the blood in his veins had been replaced by something fizzy and effervescent. Tiny bubbles popped beneath his skin and left him far more shaken than a phantom thief should ever admit.)

Suddenly - thankfully(?) - a howl of pain followed by a suspiciously strong gust of wind broke their silence. Ann’s voice echoed up the escalator a second later, a faux-casual, “uh, Joker? Fox? You don’t need a longer rest, do you?”

Just like that, the leader of the phantom thieves was off with Fox in tow. 

(Later, after everyone had flopped in an exhausted heap in the van, Akira peered into the rearview mirror and caught Fox taking another candy from the bag left on his seat. And if seeing the tiny, contented smile on his teammate’s face caused that bubbly feeling from before to reappear, well… a phantom thief is allowed to keep secrets.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I haven't written anything in a decent while, so I'm a little wary of posting this...
> 
> Hoping to get chapters out at a reasonable pace, so I'm planning on another chapter within the next few days.
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Honestly, they are excellent motivation to not just let this idea die in my head, unwritten!
> 
> Also, if anyone wants to talk, [ head canons or prompts are always welcome! ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/only-a-man-with-a-candle/)  
> (Seriously, I've been meaning to get back into writing good ideas and inspiration are so hard to come by...)


	2. Eyes on the stars, feet on the ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira builds some confidant links and squashes rumors (at least, he tries).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read, kudo'd or commented on chapter 1. I will respond to comments once this is up and posted!
> 
>  [Feel free to say hi here as well!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/only-a-man-with-a-candle/)
> 
> I hope you enjoy chapter 2!

It was an uncharacteristically quiet day in Inokashira park. All Akira could really hear was the soft _plip plip plip_ of ducks paddling in the pond. With no children playing and no other people in sight, it was hard to remember they were both still close to Shibuya.

Ann seemed perfectly content with the silence as well, swinging her arms to and fro at his side. Akira couldn’t help but remember last time they were here and her insistence that he insult her to “strengthen her heart.” That day, she was buzzing with energy as though there were a live wired beneath her skin. It was almost painful to watch her grin, all teeth and no mirth, as he tossed harmless insults at her. This beautiful girl - this competent phantom thief - did not deserve such unkind words to be slung at her after all she’d been through. 

In his personal opinion, her heart was plenty strong enough the way it was.

Today, she was much more sedate. Happy and smiling in this setting, Akira could see why so many girls were jealous of Ann. She truly was a beautiful person, inside and out; while it was through unfortunate circumstances, Akira was truly grateful that fate saw fit to bring them together. He was proud to know her as a teammate, a friend…

“Hey… Akira?”

 _How long had she been trying to get his attention?_ ”Ah, sorry. I guess I’ve got a lot on my mind lately.”

“That’s _completely_ understandable, Mr. Leader-of-the-Phantom-Thieves!” Her teasing was accompanied by an elbow to his side. He promptly grabbed his gut in mock agony, shooting her a baleful look that caused her to giggle in delight.

“If you expect me to believe that hurt after seeing you lit on fire, electrocuted and **frozen solid** , then you might need to get your head checked out! Maybe that pretty doctor you buy our supplies from would help, hm~?”

With his most betrayed expression, Akira reared back and grabbed his chest. “You’d send me to the woman who calls me her _guinea pig_? I knew you didn’t like _Ryuji_ , but Ann…”

“No no no!” It was hard to understand her completely through all the laughter. “I didn’t mean it like that and you know it! Quit being a butt!”

“...And now I’m a butt…”

“ _Stooooo~ooop_!” 

After some more light-hearted teasing, the two settled back into a peaceful silence. With the sun peeking shyly through the trees, the greenery swaying in the breeze... 

(It was picturesque, almost like a pai-)

“Have you ever…” Ann trailed off, possibly feeling awkward for once again breaking the silence, “have you ever looked at someone and thought, ‘I want to be a better person for you’?”

That was a good question… _Had he_? 

(He thought of driving through Mementos just a little bit slower, despite Ryuji’s ribbing to “pedal to the medal it, dude! C’mon!” He thought of late nights with Sojiro, making coffee that was shared with his teammate that stayed up too late the night before ‘chasing inspiration.’ He thought of attending art exhibitions, which made him feel like he would suffocate under all the judgemental stares, for the sake of moral support and _that smile_ -)

The answer was more obvious than he thought. Why was there even any hesitation? “Yes.”

“Y-you _have_?!” she gasped before audibly sighing in relief. “Thank goodness. You’ll never know how grateful I am to have someone who can relate!”

She plopped her purse on the ground near a fence post and gestured to the water. “Oh, look at those ducks over there! They must be a family!”

_Your Lovers confidant has increased to **rank 4**! You will now earn more EXP from Arcana Burst when fusing Personas of the Lovers arcana!_

\---

Walking the streets of Ikebukuro with Mishima, Akira couldn’t help but keep a mental tally.

_Weirdo...deviant...weirdos…_

Free of Kamoshida’s oppression, Mishima really was a great guy. A little overzealous in his admiration of the phantom thieves (“No, I don’t really think it would be a good idea to start a line of officially licensed phantom thieves merchandise.”), but a good guy. However, this little streak of bigotry wriggled under his skin and _squirmed_ in his gut.

As Mishima chattered on about their supposed “investigation,” Akira lagged behind with a sour feeling in his stomach. A teacher who was sexually and physically abusing students and a plagiarist who let a woman _die_ so he could steal her work were one thing; a rumored “weirdo” seemed like a shallow reason for an “investigation.”

(Mishima himself had fairly accurately identified the phantom thieves as well, which meant that this was a pseudo-heist in a way. Friend or no, Akira didn’t like being used as a prop in a plan like this.)

It only got worse once they actually made it to the planetarium.

_An eccentric? Lives in his own world? Mysteries of the universe and beauty in harmony?_

“Look, he’s even talking to himself! I think we hit the jackpot with this guy!”

Akira’s stomach sank; he knew who was approaching them even before he heard Yusuke’s voice. 

It was like watching a train wreck (was it too soon to make that sort of comparison after what happened with the mental shutdown cases?)

Mishima called Yusuke an eccentric directly to his face and Akira _knew_ beneath all the righteous indignation over being insulted, Yusuke was hurt. 

The worst part was that he was also disappointed. Disappointed that Akira would accompany someone so tactless…

He could do nothing but gape as Mishima continued to describe the “rumored eccentric,” no doubt well aware that he was describing Akira’s friend. And Yusuke…

Kind Yusuke, genuine Yusuke, smiled while grabbing their seats and offering to keep an eye out for the perpetrator. Mishima squirmed awkwardly in his seat. 

‘Good,’ he thought before immediately feeling guilty.

He continued to gape throughout the entire show, goggling when Yusuke grabbed Akira’s hand to trace Orion on the projected sky. Akira worried his eyes would fall out of their sockets when Yusuke leaned his head onto Akira’s shoulder, citing that it was much easier to hear each other this way.

If not for the way Akira’s stomach continued to curdle, he could’ve forgotten that Mishima was even the original reason they were there. Spending time outside the metaverse with Yusuke was precious, but being allowed a glimpse into how he sees the world was priceless. 

(Akira even framed a collapsing star with his fingers at one point, earning a delighted chuckle of approval from the artist. Something tickled the inside of his belly at that, leaving him grinning like a fool.)

It was only later, when Yusuke stood to use the restroom, that Akira spoke up. “Would you say that ‘eccentric’ is a compliment, or an insult?”

Mishima, obviously caught off guard, choked on his own spit a little. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

“‘Eccentric.’ Would you say it is a compliment, or an insult?”

“Well..” Mishima fidgeted in his seat, no doubt aware at this point that he had made a faux-pas.

“An insult, right?” Akira queried without once taking his eyes off a distant galaxy. “How about ‘weirdo?’”

“...T-that’s-”

“Also an insult, correct.”

“Akira-”

“You didn’t know he was my friend and I suppose that’s fair; as someone who faced their share of bullying, I just thought you’d understand how it might feel.”

Mishima visually shrank into his seat and Akira had to bite back the urge to instantly apologize for dredging up some no doubt painful memories. He would apologize once he made his point. “I said ‘sorry.’”

“But you kept saying it.”

Akira finally looked away from the display and met his classmate’s gaze. Idly, he noticed that Yusuke had been gone for quite some time now…

“He probably used his lunch money to pay the fare to get here…” Only to be insulted openly by one of Akira’s friends. His stomach gave a tiny lurch.

“You...you’re right,” Mishima sighed. “I know what it’s like to have rumors spread behind my back. I’m sorry for being a jerk to your friend. What kind of phantom thief supporter am I if this is how I act?”

Akira’s face softened into a genuine smile. “The best kind. The phantom thieves are lucky to have someone willing to follow their example and change themselves for the better.”

At that, Mishima flushed a curious shade of red and began itching his cheeks. Before he could ponder the meaning too much, Yusuke shuffled past and flopped back into his chair. 

Akira returned his gaze to a distant planet, pretending not to notice Mishima’s awkward (if sincere) apology to his left. Yusuke hummed in acquiescence and just like that, it felt as though a weight had been lifted from the group.

(It was curious though how for the rest of the trip, Akira could _feel_ Yusuke’s eyes on him. Sun’s collapsed, stars were born and throughout it all, that heavy gaze remained. Akira was not a shy person by nature - nor easily intimidated - but he could not for the life of him bring himself to meet that gaze. He felt like a coward.)

By the end of the day, the artist and his classmate were politely chattering with each other. Seeing two of his friends (and comrades) getting along was a wonderful feeling. Little teasing jibes were even being tossed back and forth, though these held no malice.

Even without having one’s heart stolen, people could change. It was small, but it still made Akira proud.

So wrapped up in his feeling of contentment, Akira failed to notice Yusuke walking closer than usual (and always curiously between he and Mishima).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this partially in retaliation of the game always wanting you to insult Yusuke? Maybe just a bit.
> 
> I'm a little wary of OOC, but with how little Akira talks in this scene...who knows.
> 
> Comments are always more than welcome! Honestly, I have a chronic case of lose-my-inspiration-itis, so they really help a lot! Even something short goes a long way towards ye olde motivation!
> 
> Thank you again for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Never dance in a small boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira finally clues in to things and Yusuke gets seasick (but not really).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This...kinda got away from me a little. I meant to include something else, but... start of next chapter, I suppose?
> 
> Also, 80% of it was written on a cell phone. I'm actually rather proud of that
> 
> 15% is taken from Yusuke's fourth confidant...thing. Oops.

“Heading out to the park today, are you?”

Akira snapped to attention in his seat, making his best ‘who, me?’ expression at Sojiro. His guardian was a stickler for no cell phones at the breakfast...bar...table. Even knowing that, he couldn’t resist peeking down at his lap and smiling at Yusuke’s latest text.

Judging by his expression, Sojiro was not buying his innocent look. ‘Oh well, wouldn’t exactly be the first time.’

Akira acquiesced with a sigh. “Yusuke texted something about going on the lake last night. He sounded pretty excited, so I couldn’t exactly say no.”

“Yusuke?” Sojiro paused in the middle of wiping down a glass before grinning. “Ah, the artist boy? Tall, kinda quirky?”

(Quirky was better than eccentric; at least he didn’t sense any malice behind it.)

“Yeah, I think he wanted to work on his newest exhibition piece,” Akira said while pushing a chunk of apple through a pool of sauce. He chuckled a little; no doubt Yusuke would find some way to make an elaborate work of art out of even curry dredges.

Tutting slightly in disapproval of Akira playing with his food instead of eating it, Sojiro turned to look at the _Sayuri_. “He’s a good kid. I like him.”

Akira released a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding. “Yeah,” he sighed, “I do, too.”

_Was that the wrong thing to say?_

Was Leblanc’s roof still intact? Akira was tempted to check with the way Sojiro’s eyebrow hiked up at his answer. 

(He discreetly snuck a peek; the rafters were still sorely in need of a dusting, but otherwise fine.)

The buzz of his phone - no doubt another text from Yusuke - seemed to break whatever tense mood had fallen over the cafe. One dry mug was replaced with a wet one as Sojiro returned to drying dishes.

“You can answer it; I know it’s tearing you up inside to not look.”

Fondness seeped into Sojiro’s words, causing Akira’s hand to pause mid-air over the phone. _What happened to no phones at the…?_

(The lock screen showed it had been a message from Yusuke, explaining that he would be late to their meet-up spot. In an effort to save precious money, the artist had opted to walk two stations down. If money was that tight, there was no doubt he would be unable to afford lunch while they are out; Akira later packed a container of curry that Sojiro had mentioned preparing for him in the fridge. Curious, but not worth questioning and losing a golden opportunity to ensure Yusuke ate something besides snack food. He’d always been on the lanky side, but lately, he was looking downright _skinny_.)

After setting Morgana up with a plate of chicken (“You’re going _where_?! Why do you think I’d want to be _anywhere_ surrounded by wat- _it’s a perfectly human thing to hate water, don’t you dare call me a cat_!) Akira made his way downstairs to say goodbye to Sojiro.

He was digging through the fridge when Boss called out to him.

“I still remember what it was like to be your age, you know?” Boss titled his head and smiled indulgently. Times like these just reaffirmed that Akira’s initial assessment of his caretaker was drastically wrong; Sojiro played the part of cool father figure rather well at times, despite his facade of not-giving-a-shit.

That said...

_What a golden opportunity_. 

“In that case, is it true that the T-rex-”

“Stop right there, smart ass. Get out before I post the cat on Craigslist!”

“ ** _Mreow_**?!”

The last thing Akira heard as he left was Boss mumbling to himself about “sassy delinquents” and Morgana’s anguished yowling.

\---

In hindsight, it was likely a dumb question to ask how Yusuke planned on rowing the boat and drawing at the same time. 

“That’s why you’re here,” Yusuke stated matter-of-factly with that smile of his already plastered on his face. “I trust you’ll be able to keep the boat steady enough as well.”

With that, the artist stepped into the boat and perched himself almost daintily at the stern. He shot Akira a questioning look when he didn’t immediately hop in as well.

Blisters. Staring at those oars, floating oh-so-innocently on top of the water, all Akira saw was blisters. Washing his hands, _bathing_...

Was it too soon to say a prayer for his dearly departed skin?

Akira could already envision how this would turn out; Morgana would be taunting him in that haughty tone of voice while Akira raided Sojiro’s minimal stock of tea bags.

“You’re buying me ramen after this.”

Both of them knew the artist could barely afford the train fare home, much less ramen. “Agreed.”

Once they started moving away from shore, Akira noticed something was...off.

Similar to in Mementos, Yusuke was looking paler than usual. Everything about his posture screamed **tense** , from the way he clutched his drawing pad hard enough to leave divots, to his staunch refusal to look up from his knees. Akira could see it now: patrons of the fine arts gathered around, sipping from flutes of champagne, pondering the meaning behind a painting of Kosei uniform pants on a backdrop of whatever cheap wood made up the bottom of their boat. (“This is obviously a metaphor for the artist’s own passion for the pursuit of knowledge!” “Not at all! It is quite obviously an attempt at satire on individuality and freedom of youth!”)

“Yusuke, do you...get seasick?”

Zero hesitation. “No.”

_That was unexpected_. “...Are you sure?”

Once again, “positive.”

His answers were like gunfire, quick and capable of leaving who they’re aimed at reeling. They were lies; it was _painfully_ obvious that the other boy was lying, but far be it from Akira to call his bluff. Yusuke tended to take statements at face value; Akira worried that his teasing might be viewed as less good-natured ribbing and more genuine derision.

(The last thing he wanted to do was make Yusuke feel uncomfortable in his own skin, the way he had upon being called a weirdo at the planetarium. Friends don’t purposefully set out to upset friends. 

_Sometimes he wondered if Yusuke had ever really HAD friends before the phantom thieves had come along-_ )

If he had known ahead of time, Akira could’ve picked up some dramamine, or whatever non-certified concoction Dr. Takemi prescribed for seasickness. As a last-ditch effort...

“You know, I actually go seasick a lot when I was little. My parents told me it was because my body was moving, but my brain wasn’t in control,” Akira ruminated out loud in an attempt at subtlety. “We were on a ferry and the asked the captain to let me just touch the wheel and I was perfectly fine.” 

“As someone who does not suffer from the same malady, I fail to see the point of this charming anecdote.”

Akira actually gave a little “oof” at that. Obviously, this conversation was over.

Before he could be allowed a proper mope, Yusuke (loudly) whispered, “perfect...This is it.”

Akira looked around in confusion. “...The...ducks?”

Yusuke sighed so deeply Akira almost wanted to apologize for failing to see this supposed ‘perfection,’ if not for the charmed smile on the artist’s face. It was indulgent and genuine and caused Akira’s heart to _clench_.

“ _That_ is why we have come today,” Yusuke enthused while glancing over at a nearby boat. “I shall paint a second aspect... the burning passion between man and woman! Fittingly, our theme today will be... the wonders of love!"

Those little flutters in his stomach whenever Yusuke spoke were starting to make a lot more sense now…

_Still_... “If you had told me your subject today was love, we could’ve bought Morgana some sushi and saved trip out here…” It was said quietly and only half serious; Morgana got _alarmingly_ excited at the prospect of sushi sometimes…

“What was that?”

_Sigh_. “Nevermind.” Yusuke actually looked up from his paper to eye his companion curiously, to which Akira responded with a faux-innocent shrug. ‘Who, me? Never!’

Apparently pleased, the artist returned to his task. “Thank you for your assistance today. After all, it would be impossible to sketch while rowing.”

“It would also be impossible because you get seasick.” 

“-!” _Oops, looks like Yusuke heard that._

"Look at the ducks! They're so cute!"

The fortune arcana must’ve smiled down upon him (thank you, Chihaya) because all else was immediately forgotten in favor of observing their artistic subjects.

(Again with the ducks, though? Was it some unwritten rule that all girls had to mention ducks when they went to the park?)

"That bashful side profile, those moist eyes... Their overflowing passion is wholly evident!" This was Yusuke’s _element_ and it was unbearably charming how _excited_ he was when inspired. _No wonder his tail wagged in the metaverse whenever Joker found a chest his thief gear is a manifestation of his inner self and **that** was honestly **adorable**_ -

"Can you please remain still?"

_Oops_. “Sorry.”

But Yusuke didn’t hear him, already wrapped up in sketching and thoughts of his next showing.

"Return to your prior angle!"

As soon as the gentleman in the boat turned their way, Akira knew they were done for the day. Rather than step in and mitigate (Yoshida would be proud of his oration abilities with shadows), the leader of the phantom thieves chose to see how it would all play out. 

For someone who insisted upon stillness, Yusuke was certainly making some grand gesticulations now. Thank goodness the boat was inherently steady; Akira had let go of the oars as soon as Yusuke’d begun sketching in earnest.

He could stop Yusuke; he probably _should_ stop him, but some part of him (Regent cooed from somewhere in the sea of his soul) insisted that this was exactly what was so appealing.

Honest to the point of tactless, driven to the point of ruthlessness and always so, so kind. Even after the incident with his beloved teacher admitted to passively murdering Yusuke's own mother for a _painting_ , he still fought tirelessly for others.

Even now, watching him verbally harass - because really, there was no other word for it - the couple nearby, Akira couldn't help but find his pursuit of passion endearing. Shadows fell to his blade regularly, but he couldn't convince the pair to pose for his picture.

(Regent was still making happy whistles from within his soul. It seems even his Personas were drawn to Yusuke. As splinters of his soul - his masks he wore in the metaverse - it only made sense they would echo his sentiments.

"Dude's off his rocker. C'mon, let's report him."

(Ooo, that’s not good. The last thing Yusuke needed after his traumatic conga these past few months was a charge filed against him. Not to mention, Akira could practically _feel_ Sojiro’s disappointment for his charge. After all his work as a phantom thief, the threat of getting taken down by a simple harassment charge was rather humbling.)

"A man and a woman intimately swaying in a dinghy of dreams... The blush of their cheeks, the bashfull looks... Yes, this is the love I was so emphatically searching for!"

“Uh...I guess you could call it that, but it’s kinda weird.”

_Uh oh. Oh no_...

“It’s familial love. This here’s my sister.”

The (non-romantic) couple began to squabble amongst themselves, each getting more and more agitated by being mistaken for a couple. Meanwhile...

“Familial…?”

Yusuke's face fell so drastically it was almost audible. Siblings? A brother and sister? The whole situation was so comical he could've laughed if not for the worry it might pour salt on Yusuke's raw pride.

(“The only ones who do this stupid crap are couples!”)

He also wanted to comfort Yusuke. Maybe, so mired in his distress, Yusuke wouldn’t notice if the boat wobbled if he leaned in for a hug…?

“So that overflowing passion was just a figment of my imagination?” Yusuke mused out loud, “it seems my bias has caused me to overlook the truth of the matter.”

The perfect portrayal of a kicked puppy, even the the siblings were shooting Akira expectant looks that screamed, “aren’t you going to do something about this?”

"Love...comes in many forms."

And just like that, the sun peaked out from behind the clouds in Yusuke’s beaming smile. "Love is a broad, multi-faceted beast... This only serves to prove how narrow my perspective can be..."

Yusuke looked up from his lap and stared unblinkingly into Akira’s eyes. "Perhaps...the truth of the heart lies in the eye of the beholder."

_Your Emperor confidant has increased to **rank 4**! You will now earn more EXP from Arcana Burst when fusing Personas of the Emperor arcana! Yusuke can now use **Artist Talk**_

“Wait… so only couples ride these things, right? That means those two are…”

Like a prairie dog, Yusuke’s head popped up to listen in. “Shh, there are people from all walks of life here in the city!”

“Ooo, tell me more~!”

Oh, she...she was insinuating this was a _date_. Well, maybe not necessarily a date, but that Akira and Yusuke were dating. Even _her brother_ assumed they were dating and honestly, it is a little Shakespeare-esque how this whole conversation was playing out.

Yusuke wasn't making any sort of attempt to deny their claims, only growing more flustered at his perceived failure. Akira _could_ interject and correct their erroneous assumption, but his words jumbled together and clogged his throat.

He didn't _want_ to correct them, not really.

Oh, _he **wanted** this to be a date, didn't he?_

(Forget Regent's delighted purring, even Arséne gave a chuckle at his revelation. Facets of himself or no, it felt like a betrayal. Here he is, sitting on a boat with a boy he finds attractive and they betray him by laughing? Some part of him was such a jerk...)

Was it really...a _bad_ thing? Obviously it was not; bad would imply that he was ashamed and Akira could not be prouder than to know any of their merry band of phantom thieves.

(Morgana would know. Pushy, stubborn Morgana who was perhaps the most insightful of them all. The linchpin holding the phantom thieves together would probably break it down to Akira in the most condescending way before demanding sushi like he always did.)

“What are they talking about?”

_That’s_ why Yusuke wasn’t saying anything; he didn’t know that she...that _they_...

As Akira rowed back to shore, Yusuke stared blankly off into the distance. Fighting back nausea or musing over this snafu, Akira couldn’t be sure.

“I’d like to do this again sometime…”

Oh, he was talking. “Rent a boat?”

Rather than respond, Yusuke simply turned and _stared_. Obviously, that was the wrong answer. Maybe Akira needed to spend some extra time with Yoshida to work on his conversational skills after all…

After weighing measuring Akira (‘I wonder what he sees?’ the now identifiable butterflies in his belly whispered as they fluttered about), Yusuke smiled and shook his head. “So…” 

“So…?”

“Not that I’m trying to break a promise - a deal is a deal after all - but about ramen…”

Dam broken, Akira couldn’t help doubling over in laughter. “I-it’s-” _snicker_ “c-consider it my treat!”

“Just for laughing, I want udon now!” Yusuke was so obviously ruffled Akira could practically _see_ feathers sticking up in all directions, like an angry peacock.

He had to stop himself from reaching out and patting the artist on the head (“The boat, Akira! Steady!”) “Anything you want, as an apology for being a jerk.”

Akira wondered what the siblings would say about this.

(Grabbing a private seat in the corner, Akira picking up the bill… _this_ was what Akira envisioned a date with Yusuke would be like. It was warm and comfortable and everything the leader of the phantom thieves would imagine a good date to be. It was decided; he wanted _this_ to be a reality.)

In all the time that they’d known him, Akira had never known Yusuke to smile as much as he did that day. Not only that, he seemed much more...assured of himself afterwards, confident even. It was almost as though he’d made a great decision, not that Akira really put much thought into it at the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I really must thank everyone once again for reading. 
> 
> Would you believe me if I said I honestly blush every time I read a comment or saw the e-mail with kudos? EVERY SINGLE TIME! And seeing people saying that they were excited for the next chapter had me like, "well geez, now I'M excited for the next chapter!"
> 
> Honestly, it's done wonders for helping my motivation! Thank you for the support! (also, I will respond to comments once this is up...or later tonight at the latest).
> 
> Incidentally, would anyone want to request one-shots? Work is slow and involves me sitting in a box by myself for several hours on end (literally) so I have time to plot... It's just a thought.
> 
> (I still worry endlessly over my characterization...)
> 
> Thank you all once again for reading! :D


	4. Courage to lose sight of the shore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone can see it, so why won't he just admit it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/only-a-man-with-a-candle/)

Akira didn’t know Futaba owned a laptop.

He’d been laying in bed, dazed and sweaty from the summer heat, when his phone gave a chirp. Morgana gave an exaggerated groan before swatting him with a paw. “Do you not know how to set the ‘do not disturb’ setting?” 

He mewled pitifully when Akira made no move to check his messages. 

Clearly, the sender did not take into account that Akira might be _sleeping_ because his phone continued buzzing. “Akiraaa~aaaaa!”

Blearily, Akira groped around for his phone, if only to get Morgana to quiet down. After blinding himself momentarily with the screen, he couldn’t help but snicker a little. ‘She probably knew I wasn’t asleep.’

Poking his head under the screen, Morgana attempted to peer at whatever was so funny. “Who is it?”

“Futaba.” 

(The newest member of their team, Futaba already fit in far too well with their merry band of misfits. Whether it was confounding Makoto, making fun of Ryuji or arguing with Yusuke, she managed to feel like she had been a part of the phantom thieves long before they ever traversed her desert castle.)

For a self-proclaimed human being, Morgana’s answering grin was downright feline. “Oho~? Disappointed?”

“No? Should I be?” It was an honest query; didn’t Morgana _like_ Futaba? Why else would he always let her pinch his cheeks and play with his paws?

“Bet you wish it was someone else~,” Morgana sing-songed, “someone clueless, bottomless pit for a stomach - ring any bells?”

“... I’m telling Ann you called her a bottomless pit.”

“Why would I - _I was talking about Yusuke_!” 

“Were we?” Akira held a hand in front of his face, pretending to inspect his finger nails. “You know, Morgana, it’s generally considered bad form to insult a girl you like. What’s next, commenting on her weight?”

Morgana actually _hissed_ , which had the exact opposite effect of what he likely intended. Akira began to laugh helplessly, not even stopping when the cat dug his claws into the meat of his arm. 

(Sometimes, when he’s feeling particularly wistful, Akira wonders if this is what it must be like to have a younger sibling. There were times he wanted to punt the cat out his window - “I literally did nothing today. **I don’t want to go to bed**. - but he was helpless to those thoughts.

They often end with him being thankful to be an only child.)

“You’re such a jerk!”

Akira kept laughing, managing to hide a wince when the vengeful like butt known as Morgana decided to dig his claws in deeper. ( _Definitely_ happy to be an only child.) “You know, I can’t respond if you’re holding my arm hostage.”

In an attempt to look nonchalant, the cat sheathed his claws and proceeded to groom his paws. “So? What are you going to do?”

Already mid-text, Akira responded, “say yes?”

“...but what if Yusuke is free?”

Without missing a beat, “then he can come along I guess?”

Clearly, Morgana was dissatisfied by that answer if the way his tail twitched was any indication. Even as a cat, he managed to pull off an impressive disappointed face.

“Nevermind,” he eventually groused. “Put your phone down so we can get some sleep.”

When his phone buzzed with one last text from Futaba, Akira didn’t even try and control his laughter.

\---

“ _Noooo~oooo_! Why are you like this?!”

“Hmm?” Akira hummed innocently without looking up from the screen, “like what?”

“Like...like….like _THIS_!” A finger jabbed repeatedly as his screen, causing little waves of rainbows.

“...You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“ _Why are you playing a sniper on your clunky brick of a computer_?! Do you _want_ us to lose?”

“Don’t worry, I’m an awesome sniper. You might want to pick a character; match starts in ten.”

“Does it at least have a solid state drive?” she pleaded pathetically, “do you even know _what a solid state drive is_?”

Pretending to inspect his computer, Akira queried, “it has a CD drive; that’s basically the same thing, right?”

Morgana was startled awake from his nap on Akira’s bed by the drawn out groan Futaba gave before selecting a support character. He shot them both a sleepy glare, which neither of them noticed. Children, honestly...

“Oh my god you’re _already lagging_! Pleeeee~eeease switch to heals! _We’re going to be slaughtered_ ”

Akira did his best not to snicker at her frustration. “No, we’re fine. I’ve got this, one-hundred per- oops, I died.”

Futaba flopped backwards onto the couch and moaned in exasperation. “ **The match just started**! Switch, for the love of all that is holy and good in this world, _be anyone else_!”

“Okay.”

It was nigh impossible to hide his ear-to-ear smirk now. Poor Futaba; maybe now she understood where some of his sass as Joker came from.

So great was her shock, Futaba’s fingers actually froze for several seconds over her keyboard. She didn’t even notice when her character gave a cry as she was struck with a bomb. “Change back.”

“You _said_ -”

“I know what I said. Change back.”

Akira hummed, watching the team chat fill with expletives. Some people, honestly… “

The other four players in the group attempted to cobble together some form of a strategy to compensate for their errant sixth member (who was rather cheerfully waving to an enemy sniper on the other team. “Look, they waved! Hi- oh, they shot me…”). 

“ _I was a **grandmaster**_! Look what you’ve done you...you _Hanzo main!_!”

Her attention was drawn back to the game as light filled her screen and a voice announced, “quintuple kill.” She could _feel_ the smugness radiating off of him, even without turning around. It honestly wasn’t fair how his unnaturally good luck extended even to video games.

Both players were silent as their team effortlessly captured the enemy’s point.

As soon as the second objective was unlocked, Futaba asked mournfully, “why do you hate me? What did I ever do to you?”

“Besides threatening me over anonymous text messages, spy on me in Leblanc, blackmail the phantom thieves, abandon us to be crushed to death in a pyramid - which you asked us to go to, by the way-”

“Alright, _alright_ , I get it! Geez, you’re kind of a jerk, you know that?” Ooo, she killed an enemy that was trying to flank with a well-placed turret. _Success_.

At this, Morgana couldn’t resist interjecting with ,”oh, he does. Trust me, Joker knows _exactly_ what he’s doing.”

“Not helping me acclimate to the outside wo- _Joker, to your right_!”

An tinny explosion rang out from Akira’s laptop speakers. His character flipped over twice, fell from the ledge he was perched on and landed in a heap ass up on the ground. “...Oops.”

Even Morgana recognized that the shade of red Futaba’s face was turning was unnatural. He wisely decided to slip away downstairs to visit Boss (and maybe mooch some fish from his favorite human) while the announcer began counting down the last five seconds of the match. 

After another four minutes or so of frantic keyboard mashing and various pained screams of dying teammates, Futaba closed her laptop and pushed it away. Gleefully, Akira kept watching after “ **VICTORY** ” flashed across his screen. “Oh, I got play of the game!”

“ _Oh look~ I got play of the game!_ ” she parroted in a nasally voice, clearly still miffed. “I was on track for top 500. _Do you even know what that means_?”

He put a hand to his chin and pretended to think hard. “Umm...you are really good?”

“ **Were** really good, until you showed up and ruined my streak!”

“But we won?”

“ **WHAT?!** ”

(If Futaba’s yell didn’t draw Sojiro’s attention, the ensuining _thud_ as Akira was gracelessly ousted from his seat did. He shared an exasperated look with Morgana, before internally berating himself for looking for sympathy _from a cat_.)

“How? **How**?! We were _losing_! We were all dead _so how_?”

Even on the floor, Akira still managed to look smug. “Not _all_ of us were dead. I was still alive in the corner.”

…

“...I thought we lost…”

 _Beam_. “You’re welcome.”

The two teens simply stared at each other in silence for an extended moment, one with a smile and the other with a glare. Finally, Futaba cracked and sighed deeply. “You’re seriously the worst. I never should have left my room this morning, geez.”

“I can’t be _that_ awful. Yusuke has been basically living here this past week.”

 **That** prompted an anguished groan and an eye roll from the hacker. “Eugh, _I know_! I have cameras set up here still, remember?”

 _Wait…_ ”Didn’t Soji-”

“Ah ah ah, don’t you ‘didn’t Sojiro’ me, Mr. Phantom Thief!” 

Now officially done playing for the day, Futaba perched herself is a careful squat on the couch. It was actually impressive how well she could balance while sitting like that; if not for her lack of stamina, Futaba would have no doubt made a rather graceful frontliner for the phantom thieves. 

“Back on topic, it would be pretty difficult to miss art boy living here, especially with the way just sat at the counter and _fawned_ over you for hours.”

At that, Akira choked a little. Like a shark on blood, Futaba keyed in on that little noise and smirked. “Oh hoh, got your interest, did I?”

‘Yes.’ “Not in the slightest.”

With the way she arched a single eyebrow in disbelief, Akira could practically _hear_ the sarcastic, “uh huh.” Even so, he continued to feign ignorance, going so far as to blink at her from behind his glasses. The resulting scowl of disgust was definitely worth fluttering his eyelashes at her.

She cocked her head to the side and mused aloud, “I used to think Fox was the only weirdo in this group, but you’re not nearly as innocent as you like to play, leader. I see through you and your phony glasses and Bambi eyes!”

Diversion didn’t work the first time, but maybe this time he could derail her… “‘Fox’? I thought you only called him ‘Inari.’”

“I only call him ‘Inari’ when he’s being an idiot. In this case, you’re **both** idiots. Ergo, it would be unfair to only insult one of you, much less when he isn’t around to get all ruffled up over it.”

_Touché_

She shrugged nonchalantly, all without wobbling once. Futaba reached for her laptop before ducking under the table to grab the power cord. “In any case, I should probably be heading home now. Not-” she popped out from under the table with a smirk, “-that I didn’t have fun though.”

“Actually, I have a question.”

A hand popped out from under the table and waved. _Go ahead_.

“You were a shut-in for months, right?” _Silence_. “Why...would you need a laptop? I’ve seen your room; you were never really that far from it at all times.”

Rather than answer, Futaba continued to pack up her laptop. Before leaving, she gave a cheerful goodbye without once acknowledging his question.

(It wasn’t until later that night, with Morgana once again crushing the air out from his lungs, that Akira caught on. The laptop, the insistence on going to Akihabara… She really had no need for a laptop before because she had no desire to go outside. Now, she had places to go and people to see outside her safe haven. Futaba hadn’t just taken a first step when she insisted on going shopping; _she’d dove into the deep end_. Akira would have to tell Sojiro tomorrow; no doubt, he would be so proud.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written ENTIRELY on a cell phone this time, just outside a pet ER. It is both shorter than I planned and WAY longer than I expected. Woo!
> 
> My motivation took a bit of a nose dive these past few days. I'm trying my best to get through that and not let this story die. Incidentally, this is the most chapters I have ever been able to write; most of the time I lose motivation around chapter 2, so...progress?
> 
> Once again, I'm a little wary of this chapter. There's no Yusuke, it's 90% dialogue and of that 90%, 80% of it is thinly-veiled Overwatch references.
> 
> (Incidentally, I've strongly considered writing a crack fic of them all playing Overwatch together just to get out of my slump. I even have headcanons on their mains and play styles!)
> 
> Now that I'm done whining...
> 
> THANK YOU ALL!
> 
> I'll do my best to respond to reviews by tomorrow! Thank you everyone for taking the time to read, leave a kudo, bookmark or comment! Saying that it brightens my day is a severe understatement! You know that stereotypical main villain laugh? I honestly make that every time I get an email from this site. I'm so grateful for you all and I hope to see you in the next chapter when I get to it (hopefully within the next 3 or 4 days!)


	5. There can be no talk of 'when'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke can't seem to sit still and Futaba is eerily observant. The school trip is only a few days away and Akira can't wait for a moment to finally relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/only-a-man-with-a-candle/)
> 
> This is also likely obvious at this point, but this is all unbeta'd as heck.
> 
> Futaba is my favorite person to write. I'm seriously considering writing that crack fic of her giving life lessons to the other phantom thieves via Overwatch.

After travelling this deep into Mementos, it honestly felt like the phantom thieves would never see sunlight again. Distant screaming, formless shadows, what looked like rib bones supporting the tunnels… it was a wonder how Morgana was able to drive around and play tour guide so calmly.

Then again, Morgana isn’t exactly normal himself…

Two days from their school trip to Hawaii (and Los Angeles for Yusuke) found the group fulfilling requests from Mishima in the lowest explored floors of the tunnels. Despite a mild rucus earlier on (“Futaba, that’s _not_ funny! Stop telling him to eat weird mushrooms!” “ _Actually_ , it’s **hillarious** because you know he totally would!”), the crew seemed to be in rather high spirits. Makoto and Ann were chatting excitedly about beaches and sunsets while Ryuji harangued Yusuke over missing out on the island scenery.

It was almost picturesque, if not for one odd thing Akira couldn’t help but notice through the rear view mirror.

(Odd, in the sense that it didn’t involve exploring the collective human consciousness of Shibuya while driving a cat bus, that is.)

Yusuke was...squirming.

Now, this wasn’t weird in and of itself; he was always holding his fingers up to frame scenery or adjusting people to achieve the proper composition of whatever he was looking at. There was also his tendency to get carsick to consider...

No, what was weird was the way he’d _wince_ ever-so-slightly every time Akira hit a particularly large bump in the tracks. Ryuji didn’t seem to notice, even as he wrapped an arm around Yusuke’s neck to pull him in closer. Apparently, even that motion was too much as Akira watched Yusuke grimace a little in his hold.

That caught Ryuji’s attention, causing his to pull his arm back and apologize. No doubt, he assumed he had simply been too rough. Akira couldn’t help but smile fondly; for all of his bluster, Ryuji really was a nice guy.

“Eyes on the road, Joker!”

Attention now back on driving, Akira noticed that the headlights were illuminating an expanse of wall. Had he kept spacing out, no doubt he would’ve driven Mona square into it. “Sorry, I’ll pay more attention.

Even as a car, Akira could _feel_ Morgana’s tail bristle in ire. “You better! My good looks are how I get all the ladies!”

Joker chuckled as he put the van into reverse. He took a quick glance in the mirror, just to make sure there was nothing behind them (ha, like another car?), only to catch Futaba watching him from the back seat. It startled him enough where he accidentally stomped the gas pedal a little harder than intended.

Once they were back on track - pun fully intended - Akira risked another glimpse up at the mirror. Sure enough, Futaba met his gaze unblinkingly. Hours upon hours of staring at an LCD screen in a dark room allowed her to seemingly go without blinking.

He kept his eyes on the road, always looking out for shadows or treasure, but every time his eyes drifted up she was watching. 

There was clearly something on her mind; why wasn’t she saying anything?

It was only once they hopped out of Morgana to take the next escalator down that she approached him. “You noticed it too, huh?”

She leveled him a gaze. _Oh_. “Everyone is so excited for the trip, I didn’t think anyone else was paying attention.”

“There’s a reason I’m called ‘Oracle,’” she boasted while tapping the sides of her goggles, “there’s not much that escapes my sight!”

Quietly, she grumbled, “and it’s not like I’m going anywhere interesting anytime soon, so…”

“Hey, I tried! You were the one with the quitter attitude.”

“ _I refuse to be packed away in a suitcase with all your underwear and socks._ ”

“That’s quitter talk if I ever heard it!”

They must have been louder than expected because both Yusuke and Ann paused up ahead. They were a sufficient enough distraction to allow Futaba an opening to throw a weak punch at his gut. “Just for that, you can figure your own way through this next floor!”

With that, she stormed off ahead to catch up with Makoto. Ann sighed and smiled before following her.

Fox though...he just stood rooted to the spot with a perplexing look on his face. When Akira gave a chuckle and rubbed his stomach (those tiny, bony fists actually hurt!), Yusuke’s face hardened almost imperceptibly. 

That...was new. He almost seemed _angry_.

While Yusuke and Futaba weren’t exactly ‘best friends forever!’ they seemed to share an almost sibling bond. Futaba was the annoying younger sister, always finding new ways to torment her elder brother Yusuke. It was actually endearing to watch the two at times, the way the sniped back and forth at each other without any real venom. Watching them had more than once left Akira jealous of the bond they shared; after all, Yusuke _was_ the first one to manage to hold a conversation with her.

Even if that conversation...well…

So, why did he seem genuinely _angry_ now?

“Joker, are you alright?” Fox’s hands flitted about the hilt of his sword, as though unsure what they should be doing right now.

(Akira could admit it; he hoped Yusuke was jealous. It was so _petty_ and such a childish mindset, but he wanted Yusuke to want him the way he wanted Yusuke. He wanted Yusuke’s stomach to _squirm_ the way his did every time Ryuji got a little too close, Makoto garnered too much of his attention, he spent _far too long_ admiring Ann…)

After brushing imaginary dust off his coat, Joker gave a patented grin. “You mean outside of knowing we still have an estimated six more floors of trip planning for Hawaii? Never been better!”

“Oh,” Yusuke sighed as his face softened, “I suppose that’s a fair answer.”

This was a perfect opportunity. “Really, the one who should be asking that is me.”

Yusuke clearly wasn’t expecting to have his question turned on him. ‘Did his tail just twitch? _Cute_.’ 

“I’m perfectly fine, why do you ask?”

Before Akira could even begin to speak, a loud voice echoed up from the escalator. “ _Joker, Inari_ , shake a leg, would yo- **ow, what was that for**?!”

“One, _could you possibly be **any** louder_? I think the shadows forty floors up heard you!” A voice that clearly belonged to Futaba chimed in. “Two, only _I’m_ allowed to call him Inari! **Me** , not you, **me**! Third, there is _no way_ that punch hurt at all, you big baby!”

“ _Okay_ , Miss _I’m-so-smart-I-can-count-to-three-_!”

“Joker, perhaps we shouldn’t dally here any longer, lest our teammates attract the attention of the Reaper with all their yelling?”

The Reaper. Oh, Yusuke certainly had a point there…

(Sometimes, in his nightmares, he hears jangle of chains, the scrape as the drag across the floor. _Screeeeeeeee_ but are they meant to shackle the Reaper or him?)

With a quick nod to each other, Fox and Joker sprinted ahead to the next floor down. 

Once they caught up and managed to pry Futaba off of Ryuji - “you’re not a girl, you’re a freaking spider monkey! Keep your bony little monkey paws off of me!” - the phantom thieves chose to keep exploring for a little longer. 

The rest of their trip, Akira couldn’t help but notice how Yusuke wobbled ever-so-slightly on his feet in battle. It only reminded him how conveniently the artist had managed to dodge his question earlier. He made a point of trying to catch his teammate alone to confront him, preferably at a rest area, but Yusuke always seemed to be around someone. 

It was almost as though he was making a concerted effort to avoid their leader… 

Once they reached another impassible wall, Akira had to call their mission completed for the day. Sure, he could’ve rotated their team around to give his current front line a break, but their two primary healers were running dangerously low on energy to summon their personas. This wouldn’t be a problem if Morgana hadn’t decided to raid his stash of drinks and snuff souls during their last palace exploration, but…

Once back in the real world, both Akira and Futaba waved goodbye to their friends before hopping on a train back to Yongen-Jaya.

Morgana curled up on Futaba’s lap, apparently too exhausted from another day of driving around the rickety train tracks to protest to her pets. Thankfully, there weren’t many other passengers on this car; Akira was fairly certainly animals were not allowed on trains.

“So…”

Futaba trailed fingers through Morgana’s fur, scratching lightly behind his ears. Despite her nonchalance, Akira could tell from her tense posture that something was obviously bothering her. “So…?”

“He wouldn’t talk to you, would he?”

There was no need to ask for clarification as to who ‘he’ was. “I tried, but we got _interrupted_ -” he shot her a pointed glance “-before I could find anything out.”

She jabbed a finger at him and pouted. “Okay, that was _not my fault_! Ryuji was the one with the big mouth!”

Akira sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Excuses excuses…”

It was lucky Morgana was still dozing in her lamp or Futaba likely would’ve launched herself at him. Instead, she scrunched her face into a scowl. “Speaking of excuses, I was going to offer to talk to Inari for you, but I suddenly remembered I needed to brush my teeth.”

Oops. _Time to backpedal_. “I’m sorry, Futaba; I’m just worried that something is seriously wrong here.”

“Nope, my feelings are officially hurt. If you think a simple apology is going to cut it, you’ve got another thing coming, mister!”

Despite her harsh words, it was obvious that Futaba was just being melodramatic. She kept peeking up at him through her bangs, only to instantly look away in a huff when they made eye contact. Even his best puppy dog eyes only earned brief snickers before she looked away with an angry flush.

(Like Morgana, it was sometimes difficult to remember that Futaba wasn’t _actually_ his younger sister. He actually enjoyed their bickering and bantering back and forth; though they sometimes got on each other’s nerves, Akira wouldn’t trade their bond for the world. It was nice to always have someone to eat breakfast and dinner, to play video games with...even if she insulted his choices in character selection.)

It was at moments like this that Akira was thankful for all that time he spent reading up the train and taking medicinal baths. It took very little effort to turn on the charm and give a winsome smile.

“I saw the newest Featherman blu-rays were out at Akihabara; they were even on sale. I’m sure if I just _happened to mention it to Boss_...”

After only the slightest hesitation, Futaba looked up with a smile. “Alright alright, apology accepted.”

“So, you’ll do it?”

“I _guess_ I can talk to him,” she sighed, scratching Morgana behind the ear. “Just let me channel my inner starving artist beforehand.”

“Is that really necessary? You two seem to get along so well!”

“If by ‘get along so well,’ you mean our first meeting involved him _snapping my babies’ necks_. Then yes, we get along swimmingly. Two peas in a pod, BFFs and all that jazz.”

“You’re obviously not holding a grudge either.”

“Not at all.”

Akira made a mental note to pick up the newest figure from that series she liked the next time he was in Akihabara. “Thank you, Futaba.”

Her face instantly flushed as Futaba awkwardly swung her legs back and forth. “Yeah yeah, you’re welcome. You can repay me by fixing this awkward UST vibe you two have going on.”

“...’UST’?”

“If you don’t know what that is, there is no way I am explaining it. You can google it when you get back.”

He did end up googling it once he was back in the safety and comfort of his attic room. While it was a little embarrassing knowing that Futaba thought this, he couldn’t deny it was entirely untrue. A bit one-sided, but true… 

(Morgana happened to peek over his shoulder and saw exactly what he was searching up. It was more than a little comical watching his kitty face scrunch up in disgust. “Eugh, why couldn’t it have been _adults_. Why did you all have to be teenagers?”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray, another chapter down! Kinda curious...is anyone noticing the chapter titles? This one in particular is pretty telling of what's going on... 
> 
> Can't believe we actually got this far, geez. Not going to lie, it's been rough staying inspired still. It's like, 'ooo, I could write OR I could catch up on my sleep!' I've been taking care of a pretty sick pet this past week and trying to function on about 3 hours of sleep a night. 
> 
> I'm terrified my real-life stress is causing all my writing to just descend into rubbish. Considering I'm already pretty critical of myself...
> 
> Have I mentioned how much I LOVE getting those e-mails from this site about kudos and comments? :'D Thank you to everyone who took the time to let me know you enjoy this! Whenever I'm looking for some motivation to start another chapter, I just look at them and SMILE.
> 
> Next chapter is the beach trip! I've been REALLY looking forward to writing it (especially one scene in particular~) In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed~!


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